Located in Northfield, the school has students from 13 neighboring communities. Because it hosts grades 7 through 12, teachers and administrators are able to form strong bonds with the students there, said Principal William Wehrli.

“You get to know the kids for a longer stretch of time than you do in a typical high school,” he said.

Wehrli, who took the post six years ago, knows the graduating class well.

“This is the class I came in with,” he said. “They’re very high on the scale of respect.”

About 75 percent of the schools graduates go on to college, Wehrli said. Many go to Greenfield Community College because it is close and affordable.

In her keynote address, English teacher Ariel LaReau cited several of the authors whose works she taught in American literature, including Benjamin Franklin and Henry David Thoreau. LaReau said she has also grown close to the graduating class.

“They helped renew my faith in teaching,” she said.

Brienne Paradis is the class valedictorian, Rachel Rodgers, the salutatorian.